Majora's Mask: The Messed Up Story
by celestialxxdreams
Summary: Four teenage girls find a copy of Majora's Mask in the attic and decide to play. What will happen when they end up sucked into the game? How will the story change? Who or what is behind it all?
1. Chapter 1

_A/n: I know the whole 'kids from earth getting sucked into a game' is a huge, overdone cliche, but Majora's Mask is one of my all-time favorite games, and I happen to be a particular fan of that genre. And so, this story was born. I have one of my oldest and dearest friends to thank for helping me with ideas and certain parts of the story. This story wouldn't exist without her. Also, thank you ahead of time for anyone who takes the time to read this. I hope you find it enjoyable._

-Chapter 01: The Game in the Attic-

Dylan swung open the attic door and poked her head inside. She coughed, waving her hand in front of her face as a cloud of dust erupted from the movement of the door. When the dust settled, she peered into the dim light from the single circular window set near the rafters. Old furniture, knick-knacks, and piles of boxes covered the wooden floors.

"Geez, Mom, this attic is a mess," Dylan commented, looking over her shoulder at her mother, Kay Walters, who was currently climbing the rickety old staircase.

Her mom came to stand beside her and Dylan slid over to one side to make room. Kay crossed her arms, surveying the state of the attic. "I guess this is what happens when you get a house for such a good price," she said. She sighed, running a hand through her dirty blonde hair. "We'll have to get this place cleaned out, I guess."

Dylan fiddled with one of her ash brown braids. "Isn't the moving truck coming soon?"

Kay glanced at her phone. "They'll be here in about 15 minutes." She returned the phone to her pocket. "Calynn is coming over, right? I want you and her to start going through some of this stuff while I help the movers. Pack what you can in boxes and see if you can push them by the door. Maybe we can get the movers to help us take this junk to the dump." She sighed again, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Dylan jumped as the doorbell rang. "That must be her now!" She scrambled back down the stairs, forgetting in her excitement to see her cousin that she was terrified of the stairs and needed to cling to the rail for dear life. Reaching the bottom of the attic stairs, she raced down the regular staircase leading to the first floor and practically ran into the door in her eagerness to open it. Standing outside on the porch was a girl around Dylan's age, her honey brown waves tied in pigtails. Dylan's face broke into a huge grin and she threw her arms around the other girl's neck, squealing and jumping around happily.

Calynn returned the giant embrace with enthusiasm. It had been so long since she and Dylan last saw each other. "I'm glad you live so close now!" she squealed. "No more seven hour drives." Her drained tone reflected the painful car rides. Despite being cousins, the two felt as close as best friends, always texting the other about life's troubles and the newest happenings in their lives.

"So…" Calynn commented, getting Dylan's attention and breaking the long awaited hug. "As I texted you before, I brought support!" She grinned motioning to the two girls behind her. Dylan hadn't even noticed them standing there. Her shyness around new people instantly took hold.

"I'm Ashby and this is Leslie," the taller of the the two girls, who stood about an inch or two above Calynn's 5'4. She held out a hand which Dylan took. "It's nice to finally meet the famous Dylan. Cal has told us much about you. It's like you've already been here for weeks."

"Cal would not stop talking about you. That's _definitely_ the truth," Leslie agreed with a slight roll of her almond-shaped brown eyes. Cal shushed her slightly sarcastic remark, earning another eye roll. She straightened her black miniskirt before fidgeting with the hem of her equally black t-shirt. "So have you been to Edgeton before?" she inquired in a gentler tone, trying not to let her sassy mood ruin Dylan's first impression of her.

Calynn giggled lightly. "When she visits me, though we don't normally go out on the town," she answered for her cousin since Dylan normally didn't like talking to strangers, at least until she'd been around them for a little while. Wanting Dylan's approval and hopefully acceptance of her friends, Calynn tried her best to keep the mood of the room as light as possible. "So, what's Auntie want us to do first? I didn't see the moving truck so I assume it's something to do with cleaning." She sighed, slouching at the idea of cleaning all day. Chores were the worst. She couldn't help noticing that Ashby, on the other hand, instantly perked up at the mention of cleaning. How anyone could enjoy cleaning was beyond fathomable in her mind.

Dylan mentioned something about the attic in a soft, rather shy voice. "Then let's get started in the spooky attic while it's still light out and we can see stuff," Cal urged. Dylan led the way to a small closet upstairs which hid a narrow stairway, and one by one, the girls climbed up. "Gosh…. So much dust." Calynn twisted her nose at the attic's musty smell. "Let's prop this door open and start finding some treasure, girls," she teased with a light smile.

They were cleaning and organizing for what seemed an eternity before Calynn let out a groan as loud as a lion's roar. "If we don't do something fun soon, I'm gonna keel over and die," she stated, dramatically flopping down on an old couch. Feeling something wet on her bum, she jumped up instantly. "Gross…"

Ashby giggled lightly. "And I wouldn't mind a snack. But we are almost done…" She surveyed the attic, which was now almost completely cleared of the junk, the boxes all neatly stacked near the door per Kay's request. "We can go a little more, can't we, Cal? Let's start a game and maybe that will help. We can play while we clean," she suggested, dusting off her pale pink and looking over to Dylan for approval.

"No more cleaning! We have to do something soon before I die in this smelly old attic," Calynn groaned. The others giggled.

Dylan, who was starting to warm up to Calynn's friends-they both seemed nice and funny in their own way-couldn't help taking pity on her cousin. She was starting to feel a little worn herself. She was considering making a suggestion to go downstairs and find a quick snack, when Calynn leaned against a part of the wall that had been covered in boards. The boards gave way and she fell through with a loud crash, her entire body hitting the floor.

"Calynn are you okay?" Dylan cried in alarm. All three girls rushing over to see what had happened. As it turned out, the boards had hidden a small, separate area, complete with a couch and an old tv set.

"I didn't know it was a fake wall…" Calynn began to say defensively, before she got a good look around and stopped short. "Hey, it's another room!"

"Cool, it's like a secret hideout," Leslie commented, ducking under the remaining boards.

"I found our new headquarters!" Calynn laughed, darting farther into the room and plopping down on the couch. Fortunately, this one wasn't mysteriously wet.

"This is neat," Ashby remarked. She and Dylan followed the other two into the room.

Calynn caught sight of something and rolled off the couch. "Dylan! Do you remember this game?" she called, kneeling on the floor in front of the joined her and her eyes widened, seeing the item Calynn was pointing at. An N64 rested on the floor in front of the tv, complete with a controller and a game in the console bearing the title 'Majora's Mask.'

"Oh, wow! I haven't seen this in ages," Dylan said.

"We could never finish it because we were such babies." Calynn giggled at the recollection.

"Hm, I've never played," Ashby said, kneeling daintily down beside the two cousins. "Why don't we take a break and play a little? We can work on it together and finish it," she suggested.

Leslie nodded in agreement. "I only ever played the first half hour or so of this game. It might be something cool to do as a group."

Dylan blew a layer of dust off the console. "I wonder if it still works…" She turned the tv on and flipped the switch on the console. The tv flickered to life and the 'N64' logo appeared on the screen before changing to the game's intro. "This is amazing! So cool!" Before anyone could say anything else, she had jumped up and flopped down on the couch. "Come on, Cal!" She patted the seat beside her, then looked at the other girls. "Oh, um, does anyone else want to sit on the couch? I don't mind sitting on the floor," she added a little self-consciously, hoping she hadn't been rude.

"I'm fine with the floor since this is your place," Ashby said, finding a slightly clean spot on the floor near the couch and taking a seat.

"Leslie can have the couch. I'll sit right here," Calynn declared. She plopped onto the floor in front of Dylan while Leslie took the couch.

Once everyone was comfortable and ready to go, it was agreed that Dylan should play first since it was her house. "This feels a little like Jumanji," Dylan said. "You know, the new one where they find an old video game while they're cleaning the school basement. Maybe we'll get sucked into the game!"

"No, don't say that!" Calynn cried in terror.

Leslie gave an evil grin. "Maybe only Cal will get sucked in."

"Nooo!" Calynn grabbed on to Dylan's jeans. "It's not true, right?"

Dylan patted Calynn's arm. "No, it's not true. We'll all get sucked in together." Now that she was starting to get comfortable around everyone, her more joking nature was beginning to emerge.

"Nooo!" Calynn resumed her crying while Leslie looked to be thoroughly enjoying the moment.

"You ladies are so funny," Ashby said.

When they were done teasing Calynn, Dylan picked up the controller, starting a new game, and they all sat back to watch the opening cutscene. A long time ago, when they were about six or seven years old, Calynn and Dylan had found Majora's Mask among Calynn's older brother's things. He'd thought it was hilarious they wanted to play it and had eagerly encouraged them to do so. The result was that within a few minutes of playing, the two girls, who were both quite timid, had been clinging to each other because it was 'too scary' and had given up not long after. Even now, at 14, Dylan still found the game more than a little eerie.

The cutscene soon ended, leaving Dylan to have Link do some impressive acrobatic jumps across a series of stumps in pursuit of the Skull Kid. She led him through the tunnel, where he then staggered on the edge of a tall cliff and fell into a dark abyss. There wasn't anything particularly strange about the kaleidoscope of masks, clocks, and ocarinas that spiraled up from the abyss Link had fallen into. The attic was already dark, so no one noticed that the room around them had begun to slowly fade away, as if black shadows were eating it from the outside in, until all that remained was the couch, the tv, and the little space of floor where the girls sat. Then, the tv began to grow larger and the spiral seemed to reach out for them.

The girls jumped up in alarm then, but it was too late. The floor and couch disappeared, leaving only the kaleidoscope swallowing them up, drawing them screaming into the void.

Ashby was the first to land on the large, pink petaled flower. The other screaming girls landed on top of her one by one until they were all laying sprawled together on the hard ground, all moaning in pain and confusion. Ashby heard another groan and, looking down, found that she was seated on a boy. "Oh no!" she exclaimed, quickly standing up and brushing dirt off of her skirt. "Are you alright?" She held out her hand to help him up.

"Ow," the boy muttered. He took Ashby's hand, allowing her to pull him to his feet. He was several inches shorter than her, his blonde hair covered by a green hat which matched his tunic. A pair of long, pointed ears stuck out from beneath his hat. He was several inches shorter than Ashby, even an inch or two shorter than Leslie. Judging by his appearance, he couldn't have been more than 11 years old. "I'm ok," he said. "What about y...um, what?" he faltered, noticing that all of the four girls were gaping at him.

Calynn was the first to speak. "Link?"

"Yeah? How do you know my name?" Link asked. He looked around, taking in their surroundings. "Where am I?"

Before anyone could say anything else, a brilliant flash of light blinded them, followed by a familiar, high-pitched giggle. Their eyes adjusted to the light and they looked up to see the Skull Kid floating in mid-air, his pesky fairy companions hovering nearby.

"Huh? Who are they?" the Skull Kid demanded, eyeing the four girls. He shrugged. "Well, whatever." He began to taunt Link, telling the boy how he had gotten rid of his beloved horse. Tears sprang into Link's eyes and even the girls were horrified by the implications. How could anyone be so evil? Link's hands clenched into fists and he reached for his sword as the Skull Kid continued to make cruel jeers at him. The imp laughed again. "Oh, come now… Do you really think you can beat me as I am now? Fool!"

The creepy purple mask covering the Skull Kid's face, began to shake side to side and a dark purple and yellow aura seeped out from it, creeping toward Link and Ashby standing beside him. The wrongness of it made Ashby's skin crawl and her stomach twist with nausea. Then a searing pain crashed through her skull like the worst migraine she'd ever experienced. She grabbed her head, doubling over and whimpering in pain. The girls and Link cried out in alarm, rushing toward her as Ashby collapsed onto the ground.

* * *

Ashby opened her eyes. She stood alone in a dark place. She squinted, straining to see around her, but it was impossible to see more than a few inches in front of her face in the utter blackness. A smell drifted to her nose-the scent of dead, rotting leaves-and then a strange sound reached her ear. It sounded almost like rustling, the padding of some small animal moving through the bushes. Ashby loved animals and nature, but something struck her as off about this sound. It made the hair on her neck rise. She looked around again, trying to make out any shapes in the blackness, too terrified to take a step forward.

She heard the sound again, closer this time. And again. Then suddenly, she was surrounded by strange, leaf-covered creatures with glowing eyes. They closed in around her, their bodies rustling, drawing in upon her. She let out a noiseless scream and ran in the opposite direction, covering her ears against the awful rustling. She was running, running, but still that sound pierced into her mind, filling her head and smothering all her thoughts. All she knew was fear. Fear and that dreadful noise. She didn't see the creature chasing her until its form loomed over her, swallowing her up in darkness.

Now she found herself curled upon the ground, writhing as her insides burned. Her skin felt as if it were shattering, tearing into shreds like the crushing of dead leaves. And then, suddenly, it was over. The pain ceased and she could finally breathe normally once again.

* * *

Link and the girls watched in horror as the dark aura surrounded Ashby's collapsed body and she began to scream and writhe in pain. Link and Calynn tried to touch her, but the moment their hands drew close, the aura snapped like lightning, burning their skin and making them jerk back. When the aura swallowed her body up completely, Dylan shrieked, grabbing onto Calynn for support. They clung to each other, wide eyed. And then, in the space of just a few seconds, the aura seeped into Ashby's body and disappeared. Only, it was no longer Ashby that lay on the ground before them.

The small creature almost resembled a tree, its body made entirely of wood. Leaves piled around the top of its head, forming into a bulb which almost resembled a bun, much like the one Ashby's hair had been worn in. A petite pink dress covered its small body, and it wore brown boots similar to those Ashby had worn. The girls all stared, vague memories of the game they had played long ago stringing together in their minds, of Link being cursed into the form of a Deku Scrub by the Skull Kid. Only Link was standing right here, fully human, before them, and Ashby…

The Deku Scrub that was Ashby caught sight of her reflection in the puddle at her feet. A pair of glowing orange eyes stared back at her from a face entirely unrecognizable. It brought back hazy memories of strange, rustling creatures. The hands she lifted into the air didn't feel like her own anymore than the face which looked up at her from the water. It felt as if something had been glued to her face, and if she could just peel it off, she would return to her normal self. She attempted to do just that, struggling to strip the wood from her face, but it wouldn't come off, no matter what she did. Finally, she collapsed to her wooden knees, panting for breath.

"Tsk. I missed," the Skull Kid said, drawing everyone's attention back to him. In the face of the nightmare before them, they had all but forgotten his presence. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. You won't be able to follow me."

The imp began to float backwards just as a door opened in the back, leading into what appeared to be a cave. Link sprang to his feet. "You're not getting away!" he shouted, darting after the Skull Kid.

"Tatl, take care of this," the Skull Kid ordered.

One of the fairies, the one which glowed yellow, sprang toward Link, flying around his face and ramming into him. In his Hylian form, it didn't do much to phase him. He merely swatted her away and resumed his chase. The fairy scowled, her tiny hands forming into fists. She looked around for something that would be effective at stopping him and spotted a vine growing not far from the door.

"Guys!" Leslie exclaimed. "I remember this. We have to follow the Skull Kid!" Dylan and Calynn stared at her blankly, while Ashby remained too shocked by her transformation to register what was happening. "Don't just stand there. We have to hurry!" Leslie urged.

Dylan and Calynn sprang into action. Calynn, who was closest to Ashby, grabbed the Scrub-she was thankfully quite light-and the four of them made a dash towards the open door, which the Skull Kid was already nearly through. At that same moment, Tael grabbed a tendril of the vine, using all of her tiny might to pull it across the doorway, intending to trip Link. Link and Dylan saw it coming and jumped over it and through the door, but Calynn, whose vision was partially blocked by Ashby's leafy bulb, tripped on the vine. She fell face first with a shout. Hearing Calynn's fall, Leslie and Dylan stopped and grabbed the girl and the Deku Scrub, pulling them through just before the door slammed shut.

"S-s...Sis!" a small voice shouted from above. Looking up, the girls saw the other fairy fly toward the door. He put his hands on it, his purple glow shimmering with his alarm. "Tatl!"

"Tael!" they could hear a muffled voice from the other side. "Skull Kid, wait for me! I'm still here!"

"That useless fairy," the Skull Kid spoke, hovering nearby, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Skull Kid!" Tael cried, his voice filled with hope as he flew up to the imp. "Please open the door for Tatl!"

Not far from the door, Link rose to his feet, drawing his sword from its sheath. He faced the Skull Kid, his blue eyes burning with fury and sorrow. "What did you do with Epona?" he demanded. He leapt at the imp, raising the sword above his head, but the Skull Kid merely levitated to the side, dodging the attack.

"Who cares what happens to that stupid horse?" Skull Kid said. "All of my plans are getting ruined. Come on, Tael, we're leaving." Turning around, he began to fly deeper into the cave.

"But Skull Kid!" Tael followed the imp, grabbing onto the ends of the red hat he wore in a vain attempt to stop him. "What about Tatl?"

The Skull Kid threw his hand up, knocking the fairy roughly to the side. For a split second, he hesitated, as if he hadn't met to hit Tael, but he quickly shook it off. "Forget it. I don't need such a useless fairy around. Now, come on!" Tael wavered, briefly looking back at Link and the girls, before hurrying to catch up with the Skull Kid.

"Come back!" Link shouted, rushing after them.

"Come on, let's stick with Link," Leslie said.

"Tael! Skull Kid!" came the muffled voice from the door.

Dylan paused, looking with uncertainty at the door. "Shouldn't we open it?"

"Why? She'll probably just go right back to helping the Skull Kid," Leslie pointed out.

Leslie had a point, but Dylan still didn't feel right about leaving the fairy trapped in there. "But doesn't Link help her in the game? What if we mess something up by not helping her?"

"I agree with Dylan," Calynn piped up.

Leslie still wasn't fully onboard, but not wanting to risk messing with the story, she relented and the girls dug their fingers into the bottom of the door, attempting to lift it. It was unexpectedly heavy, taking all four of their combined strength before they were finally able to lift it. Once they got it started, the door opened the rest of the way on its own, hitting the ceiling with a bang that sent dirt floating down on their heads.

"I don't remember Link having this much trouble in the game," Leslie said, combing dirt out of her dark auburn hair.

The moment it opened, the yellow bob of light which was Tatl darted through the doorway. "Skull Kid, thank you!" she gasped, then paused, eyeing the girls. "You're not Skull Kid," she said, her voice dripping with disdain. "...Why are you all looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?" Glancing around she found Skull kid and her brother were gone. "So that stuff…. Back there…. I apologize so… Take me with you!" she pleaded to the four girls. She would never have admitted it, but traveling alone could be dangerous for a fairy. Especially going into town, she ran the risk of getting caught by some curious bypasser and put in a jar. And then there was Tael, who was still just a child… So she gave the girls her most innocent expression, hoping they would take pity on her.

Leslie folded her arms, a half smirk forming on her face. "I don't know," she said dryly. "I don't know if a simple apology is going to be enough." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "We just need to find Link and the Skull Kid, so we don't really need a fairy tagging along, especially someone who's in cahoots with the Skull Kid."

Tatl's light quivered, but she quickly did her best to control it. "I said I was sorry! Look, I know where the Skull Kid is probably going, so I can help you out. Deal?" She bobbed about anxiously, hoping they would see reason. Leslie, satisfied that she had teased the fairy enough and gotten her to agree to lead them to the Skull Kid, relented. Dylan and Calynn exchanged glances and sighs of relief that they could keep moving now, and also chimed in their agreement to the plan.

When no one opposed her deal, Tatl dinged in the air happily. "Good, then it's settled! I guess the name's Tatl," she introduced herself, waiting to hear what their names were.

"I'm Calynn… this is Ashby," Calynn spoke first, giving Ashby a worried glance. Ashby still wasn't talking much, probably still in slight shock over what had happened to her. Dylan and Leslie introduced themselves in turn.

Once everyone's names had been exchanged, Tatl clapped her hands together. "Now then, let's hurry and catch that Skull Kid!"


	2. Chapter 2

_A/n: Chapter 2 is here! Enjoy and please review!_

* * *

-Chapter 02: Flower Power and Earthquakes-

As it turned out, it was a good thing they'd allowed Tatl to tag along. Unlike in the game, where Link had followed a rather straightforward path, this cave presented them with many twists and turns, branching off into various chambers that seemed to spread out forever. Leslie almost questioned if Tatl could be intentionally trying to get them lost, but decided the fairy hopefully had no reason to do so and said nothing. Besides, every so often, they passed a torch casting a dim orange glow around the space, leading her to believe this was a commonly traversed pathway.

While they followed Tatl through the cave, the girls finally found an opportunity to discuss everything that had happened. "Ashby, are you ok?" Dylan asked, looking down at Ashby. The transformed girl still hadn't spoken a word, but she was at least walking on her own now.

Ashby looked up at Dylan, her great glowing eyes gleaming with some emotion Dylan couldn't quite recognize. "I'm okay," she said. When she spoke, her voice sounded oddly squeaky and scratchy. She touched a hand to her throat. Even her voice had changed. "So much has happened. I'm struggling to absorb it all."

"You know I'm blaming this on you, Dylan," Leslie said.

"Huh? Me?" Dylan asked with genuine confusion.

"'Maybe we'll get sucked into the game!'" Leslie waved her hands around, using a spooky voice.

"Hey, that was a joke! I didn't think it would actually happen," Dylan defended herself.

"I told you not to say things like that!" Calynn said, only half-joking.

"It's ok, honey," Ashby spoke up. "None of us knew this would happen."

A thought crossed Dylan's mind, making her chest tighten. "Is it...I mean, you don't think...Ashby will go back to normal, right?" Although the now-Deku Scrub could still hear her, she lowered her voice on the last part, scared that speaking it aloud might touch too close to Ashby's own feelings.

"I didn't play very far in the game," Leslie said, folding her arms, "but I do know that Link learns the Song of Healing from the Happy Mask Salesman that allows him to turn back into a human. Hylian. Whatever. I'm assuming it will be the same for Ashby, but we need to find Link and get his help."

"It's not much farther," Tatl said. As she spoke, the cave opened onto a wide room covered with the same pink flowers they had originally landed on.

"Guys, I think this might be a problem," Dylan said, surveying the room. They stood on a ledge on which a single pink flower grew. Several more dotted the ground below, which was down at least seven or eight feet. Atop another ledge across the room stood the only doorway. "How do we get over there?"

"Ohhh, yeah…" Leslie groaned. She crept to the edge of the ledge, peering out over it.

"Link's not here, so he must have gotten across," Dylan said, even as another alternative crossed her mind. She pushed the thought aside. It was too horrible to entertain.

"The Deku girl can use the flowers to fly across, but I don't know about the others," Tatl said.

Ashby moved closer to the flower, bending down to get a closer look at it. "It's so pretty!" she exclaimed. "How do I use it?"

"How should I know?" Tatl retorted snarkily.

Ashby took another step toward the flower. She almost felt drawn to it, as if she wanted to somehow merge with the flower. Taking another step, she touched one of the pink petals with her toe. The flower's stigma, which formed a large hole big enough to at least hold both her feet, seemed to call her to go inside. None of it make sense. Large as the stigma might be, there was no way her whole body could fit in there. Or so she thought.

Relying mostly on instinct, she placed a foot inside the hole. Inside, it felt moist, cool, and strangely, homelike. As if she was meant to be there. She placed the other foot it and, without thinking about it, began to spin. Her body moved like a screw, winding itself inside the flower at a surprising speed, shrinking and sucking in so that she was able to fit. At the very end, she tilted her head up, allowing her spoutlike nose-mouth to stick out. Being inside this flower was the most comfortable she'd felt since entering this new body. She almost felt she could simply forget everything and stay here forever, simply become part of the flower…

The sound of voices speaking overhead drew her out of those thoughts. "Ash? Are you ok in there?" Calynn's voice called. She doubted she would have known it was Calynn had she still been in her human body. Everything sounded different down here. Noises were muffled, yet the vibrations they made seemed exaggerated. As a human, her ears probably would have been unable to distinguish the vibrations well enough to hear, but in this strange, wooden form, Ashby could.

Unfortunately, she apparently couldn't speak while inside the flower. She remembered she was supposed to be figuring out how to use this flower to fly. Once again, it seemed illogical, and once again she found herself drawn by some internal instinct. Her hands moved around within the flower, searching for something, until she came across two small, rounded objects which felt like seeds of some sort. She didn't know how she knew, but somehow, she recognized that she could use these seeds to help her fly. Releasing a breath like a deep sigh, she let her muscles tense and relax, sending her popping out of the flower and high into the air. Doing so triggered something in the seeds, causing them to instantly blossom into a pair of flowers which spun and caught the air, causing her light body to hover forward. She made her way to the opposite ledge, her body slowly lowering as the flowers gradually stopped their spinning and the disappeared in a spray of pink petals.

"Whoa, you did it!" Calynn shouted from the other side.

"Ok, now how do _we_ get over?" Leslie asked.

The smile drooped off Calynn's face. "Oh, yeah."

Ashby looked around. The cave was mostly empty beyond the Deku flowers and a few tufts of long grass. Some vines crawled up the cavern wall. Ashby was struck with an idea. "Maybe I could lower these vines down and you could climb up," she suggested.

"That could work," Dylan said. She looked to the others. "Should we give it a try?"

"It seems like a good idea to me," Leslie said, and Calynn nodded her agreement. Leslie eyed the edge. "Now it's just a question of how to get down."

"Maybe we can lower ourselves and jump the rest of the way," Dylan suggested.

"Ok. Cal can go first," Leslie said, grabbing Calynn's shoulders and gently pushing her towards the edge.

"Why is it always me?" Calynn wondered aloud. She sighed and carefully tiptoed toward the ledge, grimacing at the long distance down. "...Ok, I guess it's better me than you two." Kneeling on the ledge, she began to carefully lower herself down. When her hands could no longer hold her weight, she took a deep breath and let go, falling onto her bum on the hard, moss-covered stone. "Oww," she moaned.

With Calynn safely on the ground, Dylan went next. Last was Leslie, and then it was time for the climb up. Ashby pulled the vines from the wall with some difficulty and dropped the ends down for the girls to grab onto. To ensure the vines were secure, she tied them around her middle and anchored herself inside a nearby Deku flower. When she was ready, she made a muffled, grunting sound from within the flower. It was embarrassing, but served the purpose.

"I guess I'll go first again," Calynn said, stepping forward and grabbing the vines.

"Are you sure?" Dylan asked. "I don't mind going first."

"Nope. I'm the strongest, so I should go. That way, I can help pull you guys up," Calynn insisted. Dylan relented, but carefully positioned herself so that she could break Calynn's fall if she slipped.

"Don't worry, Cal. If you fall, we'll catch you!" Leslie called after Calynn. "Probably," she added with an evil grin. Dylan shook her head.

Calynn pulled the vines, checking to make sure they were secure and strong enough to hold her weight. When they didn't give, she took a deep breath, hoping she would be okay and not have a clumsy moment, and tied the vines around her own waist. Then she began to climb. She was very grateful for the time in 6th grade when she'd taken on the notion that she wanted to be a professional rock climber and insisted her parents pay for rock climbing lessons. It hadn't taken long for her to decide rock climbing wasn't her thing after all, but her parents had forced her to stick with it for at least a year to 'build character' as they'd said. At the time, she'd moaned and groaned, but now it was proving to useful. Even though it had been two years, her body still remembered what to do.

Since the ledge wasn't very high, she managed to reach the top in a few minutes, thankfully without any major slips. She was then able to lower the vines down to the others and help pull them up one by one. The girls all celebrated and even Tatl joined in. They continued their pathway, weaving through various dark caverns, until a new sound reached their ears. Ever so faintly, they could hear Link's voice yelling something incoherent, followed by the Skull Kid's twisted giggle.

"Link!" the girls practically shouted in unison.

"Skull Kid!" Tatl chimed. Forgetting the girls, she took off flying towards the voices. Exchanging glances, the girls sprinter after her.

The next room they entered was once again filled with Deku flowers, though there were thankfully no apparent ledges they needed to climb. Enormous stalactites stretched down from the ceiling, and equally large stalagmites stretched up from crevices so deep they couldn't see the end and could only feel cold drafts coming up. Dylan shivered with fear. The cavern opened onto a tunnel at the towards the right. In the middle was Link, kneeling down, his sword drawn and sweat shining on his forehead. The Skull Kid was hovering high above his head, laughing tauntingly. Link looked around as if searching for something to climb to give him some leverage, but there was nothing.

"Tael!" Tatl cried when she saw the purple orb bobbing near Skull Kid's head.

"Sis!" Tael also cried in response, catching sight of her. The two fairies flew toward one another and grabbed hands, twirling about together in mid-air.

"This could be bad," Leslie said.

"What could?" Dylan asked.

"This." Leslie gestured toward the scene playing out in front of them. "Link isn't supposed to fight Skull Kid, and Tatl isn't supposed to reunite with him. What if this has some detrimental effect on the story? I don't know how much you guys played, but I at least know that Link's main purpose in this game is stopping the moon from falling and destroying the world. If something happens to change that..."

Dylan and Calynn looked at one another, alarm mirroring in both their eyes. "What should we do?" Dylan asked, her eyes scanning the room as if the answer might lie there somewhere.

Apparently, they didn't need to do anything. Seconds later, the Skull Kid spoke. "I've had enough playing around with you," he said. "You and your little friends can say goodbye." Laughing, he raised his arms in the air. A purple aura similar to the one which had transformed Ashby erupted from his outstretched arms. The ground began to shake, large cracks forming in the stone and rocks falling from the ceiling. The imp laughed again, his mask shaking side to side, and darted away towards the tunnel, the two fairies fast on his heels. As they followed him, a tiny rock fell from the ceiling, hitting Tatl and knocking her unconscious to the ground. Her companions, unaware, left her behind, disappearing into the darkness.

Link was instantly on his feet, staggering along over the quaking earth in pursuit of the Skull Kid. The girls weren't far behind. They stumbled along together, struggling to reach the tunnel Skull Kid had disappeared in. A huge boulder fell, almost crushing Ashby. Fortunately, Dylan snatched her aside at the last second. A crack in the earth widened suddenly. The shaking made Calynn lose her footing. She slipped, almost falling into the newly formed gap. A hand caught her, pulling her. Looking up, she saw it was Link, who was fighting to hold on to her without being pulled down himself. The other three joined in, Dylan and Leslie grabbing Calynn's other arm and Ashby grabbing onto the one Link held. They all heaved and Calynn was dragged to safety.

Together, they all ran to the shelter of the tunnel, Dylan pausing to scoop up the unconscious Tatl in her hands. The fairy's tiny body emitted not only a glow, but a faint warmth which radiated like sunlight up Dylan's arms. From the tunnel's safety, they turned to survey the cavern. The shaking ceased, but the room had been left in complete disarray, destroyed so utterly that only a few spots of mossy, flower dotted stone still remained.

"I can't believe the Skull Kid is this powerful," Dylan breathed. Her voice reflected the horrified awe they all felt.

Tatl twitched, moaning, and sat up, rubbing her head where the stone had struck her. "Huh?" she mumbled, seeing the girls and Link staring down at her. "Where are Tael and Skull Kid?" She flew up, spinning around in search of them. When she saw the room, she froze, her pale yellow eyes widening. "...Did Skull Kid do this?" she asked.

"Yep," Leslie replied.

Tatl bit her lip, unable to say anything. At last, she shook herself and turned to the group. "Well, what are you all standing around for?" she asked, crossing her arms and bobbing up and down in frustration. "Let's hurry up! I need to find my brother!" And so saying, she whirred off down the tunnel.

"Look at this creepy tree," Calynn said, stopping to examine a tiny tree which was growing beside the tunnel's entrance. "It has a face. Scary."

"It sort of looks like a Deku," Leslie added. "Do you think someone carved it?"

Ashby stared up at the tree. Reaching out a hand, she touched it. A strange quiver ran through her body. She closed her eyes. "It makes me feel sad," she murmured. She stayed there a moment longer before removing her hand and they all followed Tatl and Link.

As they traveled farther into the tunnel, they seemed to have exited the cave without realizing it. Instead of stone, the ground changed into soft dirt from which rows of trees grew, their thick canopies maintaining the tunnel. A wall made of stone bricks stood at the far end, a square opening leading inside. As they walked closer to the opening, they all began to feel a strange, spinning sensation as they walked, like the vertigo one feels when looking down from a great height. The moment they set foot through the doorway, the sensation ceased.

Damp air touched their faces. Algae covered the walls and floor beneath their feet and a water wheel spun ahead. The creak of turning gears echoed overhead. "This is the Clocktower of Clocktown. It's this place's main attraction," Tatl explained. She bounced above their heads with unspoken enthusiasm. "The town is just up this way. Come on!"

Only Tatl picked up the pace, flying eagerly ahead while the rest continued at a slow pace, taking in their surroundings with wonder. Link glanced at his four companions, his eyes lingering slightly longer on Ashby's changed form. A guilty expression crossed over his face. It had just occurred to him that this girl had unintentionally taken a curse that had been meant for him. He was grateful not to have been transformed, but in a way, it was his fault that she _had _been. He cleared his throat. "So, who are you all exactly?" he asked. "Where is this place? And how the heck do you know my name?" Once he'd started, the questions he'd been holding onto in the back of his mind all poured out.

"I'm Calynn," Calynn quickly piped up while the others were busy exchanging glances and trying to figure out how to answer. "These weirdos are Leslie, Dylan, and Ashby." She gestured to the others in turn. "And you're not gonna believe this, but we're inside a videoga-"

"We're lost!" Leslie shouted, drowning out Calynn's voice. "Completely lost. No clue where we are."

Calynn looked at Leslie, a question in her eyes. "But we were-"

"Cal!" Leslie hissed. She grabbed the other girl's arm and pulled her to the side out of Link's earshot, gesturing for Ashby and Dylan to follow. "Are you crazy?" she whispered. "We can't just go blurting out that we're in a game. At least until we've figured things out, I think it's best if we pretend to be as clueless as Link. Agreed?" Everyone nodded.

Link watched the four girls group together, whispering about something in voices too low for him to hear, although he was pretty sure he heard his name mentioned. Were they hiding something? When they'd finished conversing, the girl with long, dark red hair spoke again, reiterating her earlier explanation that they were lost. Well, he didn't have any reason not to believe them, except that they were acting really odd.

"But how do you know my name?" he asked again.

Leslie could have smacked Calynn. Why had she blurted out his name earlier?

Dylan watched Leslie wither, her plan failing against that question. Dylan had an idea, although she wasn't sure how good of one. Seeing the silence was stretching on too long, she decided to take the risk. "There's a legend where we come from," she said, fiddling with one of her braids. "It's about a boy named Link who saved his world from a terrible evil. You look like the boy from the legend. We had no idea you would actually be him."

Link was taken aback. He'd had no idea he was so famous, especially since he hadn't really done much more than warn Princess Zelda about Ganondorf. At least, as far as everyone else knew. He wondered where they were from, but it seemed more questions would have to wait as the fairy called Tatl chose that moment to fly back and start chiding them.

"What are you all standing around for? Do you want to find the Skull Kid or not?" the fairy cried, her yellow light flickering.

She did have a point. The longer they waited, the more time the Skull Kid had to make his getaway. Link, his heart clenching in his chest, refused to give up hope that Epona was safe somewhere. Once he got his hands on the Skull Kid, he would make sure the imp told him the truth. And if it turned out she wasn't alright… The thought made his eyes sting, and he pushed it away.

Up they followed Tatl to a great wooden door. Link had just placed his hand upon the door to push it open when goosebumps erupted on his flesh and he was filled with the disturbing sensation that some unknown person stood right behind him. A chuckle confirmed that feeling, followed by a voice that sounded vaguely familiar.

"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"

Link and the girls spun around. Behind them stood a man whose appearance Link instantly recognized. The creepy grin plastered on his face, the purple clothing, and the enormous sack of masks on his back all pointed to one person: the Happy Mask Salesman. The salesman's attention was not, however, directed at Link, but at Ashby.

Calynn nudged Leslie. "Who's the creepy guy?" she whispered somewhat too loudly.

"Shh!" Leslie hissed. "I'm trying to listen." Calynn puffed her cheek out in a pout, crossing her arms, but obeyed.

"That's-!" Tatl began before quickly covering her mouth with her hands. She ducked down behind Link's hat, carefully out of sight of this new character.

The man proceeded to introduce himself as the owner of the Happy Mask Shop, explaining that an important mask had been stolen from him by an imp who could be none other than the very Skull Kid they were chasing. "Now don't think me rude, but I have been following you…" the salesman continued.

"And he's a stalker!" Calynn practically shouted.

"_Cal_!" all three of her friends hissed, and Link eyed her with an odd expression.

"What?" Calynn asked, shrugging. "It's true…"

Leslie rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Fortunately, if the Happy Mask Salesman heard her words, he gave no indication that they had bothered him in anyway and merely continued with his story. The moment he said he knew how to return Ashby to her former self, even Calynn's attention was fully focused on him. The salesman now looked at Link.

"If you can get back the precious item that was stolen from this boy…" he said, and looked back to Ashby, "I can show you how to return to your true form. All that I ask is that you recover the mask that was stolen from me. Surely for the five of you, it will not be a difficult task."

"Are you kidding? Have you _seen_ what the Skull Kid can do?" Calynn cried, unable to hold back anymore.

"The mask does possess strange powers," the salesman admitted, "but I think you will find that this new form of yours also grants you powers which can be used in your favor. I'm sure you'll be fine. So, do we have a deal?"

"N-mmn." Calynn started to speak, ready to completely deny any agreement with the creepy stalker man, but Leslie quickly placed a hand on her mouth, pulling her aside.

"Please excuse us for a moment," Ashby said, glancing sidelong at her friends. "I think we need to discuss everything before we make a decision."

"Of course. I understand," the salesman said. "But do try to hurry."

"Although I hate the creep… he's the way to help Ashby, so what do we have to lose?" Leslie said.

Dylan glanced to Ashby and nodded in agreement. She couldn't help feeling a little guilty about bringing them all here. Although her Jumanji reference had been a joke, it had crossed her mind once or twice that she might have somehow jinxed them. "Let's do what we can. We need to help Ashby," she urged Calynn, who still seemed too creeped out at the thought of working with the salesman. "Besides, doing this might be how we find out how to get back home."

"Guys, he's got a Mario mask…" Calynn said, eyeing the mustachioed man who stared at them from beneath a red cap on the back of the salesman's bag. "I can't…can't in good conscience say this is a good idea. DO we REALLY not have a better option?"

"You got a point….Crap," Leslie muttered under her breath. "How did he even get a Mario mask? Let's ask him." She turned towards the salesman, intent on her new goal.

"Woah, woah!" Now it was Calynn's turn to hold Leslie back. "Ok, ok, ok. Let's just make the deal. You can't just start asking mask salesmen where they get their other game items. OMG, are you trying to kill us all Leslie?" Calynn jerked the other girl back, her face turning red with fear and embarrassment.

Ashby shifted slightly, casting a glance at the salesman. "I think he's trustworthy. Let's just do what we can for now." With everyone in agreement, they all turned to the salesman. "We'll do our best to recover the items," she said.

"Excellent," the mask salesman said, clapping his hands together. "And what about this young man, here?" He looked to Link. "I'm sure you'll be interested in helping as well."

Link gave a sharp nod, his eyes narrow. "I have a bone to pick with that Skull Kid," he said. "And," he glanced at Ashby, his face reddening, "it's partly my fault you got stuck like that."

"Very good." The salesman added that they would need to recover the items in three days, then

lifted his hand to Ashby to shake on their deal. Calynn cringed and quickly pulled the Scrub away after the deal was done. "Keep your word please," Ashby added, before allowing Calynn to drag her back to the group, and they all headed out of the clocktower.


	3. Chapter 3

-Chapter 03: Fairies, Snot, and Hide-and-Seek-

They entered the town just as a rooster crowed, announcing the start of a new day. Early as it was, the town was already bustling, especially with what appeared to be a group of men doing construction. "That salesman gives me the creeps," Tatl said, rubbing goosebumps off her arms.

"Yes! Thank you!" Calynn cried, happy that finally someone understood her.

"Don't worry, Cal. I think we all agree that he's creepy," Dylan said, patting her cousin's arm. "More importantly, are we going to be able to do all of this in three days?"

"It does seem like a rather short amount of time," Ashby agreed. "I wonder where we should start."

"We're going to see the Great Fairy!" Tatl piped up.

"The Great Fairy?" Link asked. "Can she help us?"

Tatl explained that the Great Fairy kept watch over the whole town and would be able to help them find the Skull Kid, to which Link could agree she had a point. "And just between you and me," Tatl added with a wink, "the Skull Kid is no match for the Great Fairy."

"Yeah, that's what she thinks," Leslie muttered under her breath.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Calynn asked.

"Oh, you'll see."

"Oh, look, a puppy!" Ashby suddenly squealed. She ran forward happily as a small white dog ran towards her, bending down and patting her knees. "Come here, puppy."

"Oh no, Ashby, don't-" Leslie started, but too late.

The dog suddenly stopped right in front of Ashby. Its haunches raised and it let out a low growl, right before pouncing onto the Deku Scrub, knocking her to the ground.

"Hey!" Dylan shouted. She grabbed Ashby, pulling her up, and waved her hand, trying to shoo off the growling mutt. The dog didn't budge, but instead tried to jump up and bite Ashby's foot. Dylan lifted the Scrub out of reach and ran to hide behind Calynn. "Cal, make it stop!" The dog only followed her. The girl ran around, holding Ashby high over head. "Go away!" she yelled, while the dog continued chasing her, determined on getting a hold of the Scrub.

"Come on, let's go this way," Leslie said, pointing to a wooden ramp leading upwards. "I don't think it will follow us if we leave this part of town. I hope," she added.

The girls and Link ran up the ramp as fast as they could. Thankfully, Leslie's guess was correct and the dog stopped following them, although Dylan could still hear the terrifying barking not far behind them. "Is it gone?" she asked.

"Ma'am, please put me down," Ashby said.

"Oh, right." Dylan returned the Deku Scrub to the ground. "Sorry," Dylan said sheepishly, hoping Ashby wasn't upset with her. "I thought it was going to use you as a chew toy."

"How odd," Ashby commented, straightening out her dress. "Usually dogs love me."

"Trust me. It doesn't love you while you're a Deku," Leslie said.

"No, I think it just loves her for a different reason," Dylan pointed out.

"Anyway," Tatl cut in, darting into the middle of the girls to get their attention, "the Great Fairy is right over there." She pointed to a cave not far away. "Let's hurry up."

"Hey, guys! Look at the scary balloon! Doesn't it look like the mask that Skeleton Kid was wearing?" Calynn said, pointing to the large purple balloon at which a small boy of about seven or eight years old was shooting blow darts.

"You mean the Skull Kid?" Leslie corrected. "And yes, it does. It was probably his doing."

"Skull Kid loves playing pranks," Tatl said. "Usually they're pretty harmless, but lately they've been...well…" She gave a sidelong glance at Link, blushed, and shook her head. "Anyway, stop standing around and let's hurry up already!"

"So Link," Calynn said as they made their way toward the cave, "is the Great Fairy as terrifying as she seems in the ga-OW!" Calynn glared at Leslie, who had just smacked her in the head. When Leslie gave her a look, her eyes widened. "Oh, right. In the stories we've heard?" she corrected herself.

Link gave her a blank look. "Terrifying?"

"Yeah, you know. Cause she's all scary looking and stuff."

Link still stared at her with the same blank expression, as if he didn't have a clue what she was talking about.

"What are you talking about?" Tatl asked. "The Great Fairy is known for her legendary beauty."

Leslie, Dylan, and Calynn all exchanged glances. Even if they hadn't played Majora's Mask, all three of them had played Ocarina of Time. Ashby was the only one of the group who generally wasn't much of a gamer, other than the occasional Pokemon game or when her friends kidnapped her and forced her to play something with them. Whatever the case, they were going to find out soon. Except they weren't, because when they entered the Great Fairy's Fountain, to everyone's horror (except Leslie, who already knew what to expect), they discovered the Great Fairy had been shattered into a bunch of tiny golden fairies, which looked almost like adorable dolls, by the Skull Kid's power. Following her plea to find the last stray fairy, they exited the cave and stood around to discuss.

"Has anyone seen a fairy around?" Dylan asked.

Ashby and Link shook their heads. Calynn pointed to Tatl. Everyone gave her a look.

"What?" Calynn asked. "She's a fairy."

"Not helpful," Dylan said. Calynn shrugged. "Leslie?" Dylan looked at the redhead expectantly.

"Hold on, I'm thinking," Leslie said. "It's daytime, so if I remember-" She glanced at Link and Tatl. "I mean, uh, I have a feeling we should go this way."

Leslie led them back down the ramp. They made a run past the dog and to a set of stairs leading up to a Laundry Pool. There, floating over the water, they saw a little, doll-like fairy.

"How are we going to get it?" Calynn asked.

"Ashby can get her," Tatl said. "Deku Scrubs are light, so they can hop on the water for a short period of time. Just don't overdo it, or you'll sink," she added.

Following Tatl's suggestion, Ashby jumped onto the water. To her amazement, the water almost felt solid beneath her feet. It was almost like jumping on a really bouncy bounce house. She hopped to the fairy, which instantly attached itself to her, asking her to return it to the shrine in North Clock Town. Ashby continued her bouncing to the other side of the water. "Hee hee, this is so fun!" she giggled, and proceeded to bounce back across. With the fairy now in tow, the group headed back to the shrine.

"How did you know where to find the fairy?" Link asked Leslie.

"Uh…" Leslie glanced around nervously. "Just a lucky guess?"

"More importantly," Dylan said, "did you see how cute the little Great Fairies are? They're so tiny and adorable! I wish I could keep one." She put her hands on her cheeks and squealed.

"You can_not_ keep the Great Fairy," Tatl said, sounding slightly annoyed. "I still can't believe the Skull Kid did this to her. Or how he did it."

"Can I just hold her for a minute? Pleeeeease?" Dylan held out her hands to Ashby, a puppy dog look on her face.

Tatl glared. "No way! She's not a toy!"

"I know she's not a toy! I just wanna hold her!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Ok, you two," Leslie said, grabbing Dylan's arm and pulling her away from Tatl, who stuck her tongue out. "Let's just get back to the shrine already. We don't have time to waste arguing about silly things." To Calynn she whispered, "Your cousin is a little weird…"

"Yeah, she gets that way around cute things," Calynn whispered back, glancing at Dylan, who was still pouting and casting longing glances at the little sprite hanging onto the bud on Ashby's head.

Ashby led the way inside the Great Fairy's Fountain. Her miniature companion gave a tiny yip of joy and joined the other fairies floating about the pool of pale sparkling water. They spun around, merging together to form a giant, bosomy woman scantily clad in ivy which covered her body and adorned her long golden hair which floated gracefully around her. Calynn, Leslie, and Dylan gaped. She really was beautiful. Despite Tatl's insistence of the fact, they had chalked it up to the fairy's own bias. But no, it was easy to see why a faint blush tinted Link's cheeks.

Leslie nudged Dylan and Calynn, and jerked her head toward the boy, who was gaping at the fairy with mouth slightly open. "I think someone's got a crush." The three giggled.

Meanwhile, the fairy gave Ashby her thanks, explaining that she'd thought the Skull Kid was helping her and had grown careless, then offering to grant Ashby magic power. Before Ashby knew what was happening, the Great Fairy held out her hands and a golden light surrounded the Deku. Unlike the dark light of the Skull Kid's curse, this light felt warm and seemed to wrap around her like a comforting embrace. A gentle sensation filled her body, as if warm honey were flowing into her, and she began to swoon while her body slowly levitated into the air. Gradually, the light faded away, lowering Ashby back to the ground. She felt strange, but not in a bad way. Rather, she felt that she had grasped hold of some new power.

The Great Fairy explained that Ashby could use the magic to blow bubbles, then turned to the other four. "I sense that on the journey which lies ahead of you, you will all need my blessing," she said. And so saying, she proceeded to grant each one of them the gift of magic. Her task finished, the Great Fairy advised them to seek out the man in the observatory for help finding the Skull Kid, leaving them with a final warning to be careful before she twirled around, disappearing into the rippling water with an echoing laugh.

"Wow," Dylan said, looking down at her hands. Was it her imagination, or were they now surrounded by a pulsating glow so faint it was almost unnoticeable? "I think we can do magic now."

"How do we use it?" Calynn asked.

The girls all turned to Link. He stepped backwards, raising his hands defensively. "Wh-what? What did I do?"

"You know how to use magic, right? Teach us," Leslie said. Link looked back and forth from each of the girls, who were all staring at him expectantly, finally turning a look of desperation to Tatl.

"You're some kind of great hero, right?" Tatl said, shrugging. "It makes sense to me. You should teach them what you know."

"Ok, ok, I get it," he said as the girls started to close in on him. "But the only magic I can do is with a weapon. Do you have weapons?"

"Aw man, we probably need that," Dylan said.

"Where are we gonna get weapons?" Calynn asked.

"I've heard there's a swords master somewhere in town," Tatl said. "But do we really have time for that now? We have less than 72 hours to find the Skull Kid and we still have no idea where he is."

"She has a point," Leslie said. "Let's focus on finding the Skull Kid for now. We can worry about other stuff later."

They left the shrine, re-entering Clock Town. "Ashby," Leslie said, "the Great Fairy said you can blow bubbles. Maybe you can use it to pop that balloon."

"I suppose it's worth a try," Ashby said. As she'd discovered the case usually went in this new form of hers, Ashby had no idea what she was doing. If blowing a bubble was her power, which seemed a little silly to be honest, perhaps it was similar to blowing a bubble with gum. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember what it felt like to have teeth. Strangely, though she'd only been a Deku Scrub for a day, the memory of being human seemed fleeting and distant, almost like a barely remembered dream. But she _had_ had teeth once, not so long ago. Teeth with which she could chew. And lips too. Lips to blow the gum, forming a sticky orb of thinly stretched goo.

She didn't have lips now, or a nose, but instead some snoutlike structure that seemed to serve as both. But surely the concept was the same. So she put all her focus into it and started to blow. Sure enough, she felt something thick and sticky emerging from her snout. Opening her eyes, she looked cross-eyed down her snout to see a viscous bubble balancing on the orifice of her snout. She blew some more and the bubble grew slightly larger. It glistened in the sunlight, shining with a putrid green sheen. It was, for lack of a better word, disgusting.

Ashby continued to blow until she felt certain that if she blew anymore, it would pop, covering her in its thick, green, slime. Then she took aim at the balloon and imagined her lips puckering and spitting out the gum. Away went the bubble, soaring through the air until it struck the balloon with a loud POP! that sent the balloon scattering about in tiny shreds.

"...Whoa," Calynn said.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you just popped that balloon with a giant snot bubble," Leslie said.

"A _magic_ giant snot bubble," Dylan pointed out.

"Yep. Ashby has magic snot bubbles," Leslie said, and she and Dylan burst into giggles.

"This is so gross," Ashby said. She wished she could get her hands on a tissue to wipe off the remaining essence of the bubble.

"Hey." Everyone looked up to see a small boy wearing a red bandanna over his head standing there, fists on his hips. They recognized him as the boy who had been shooting blow darts at the balloon earlier. "Did one of you pop that balloon?"

"That would be me," Ashby said.

The kid crossed his arms, tilting his head. "Not too bad for a Deku Scrub," he said.

"Oh, how kind." Ashby wished she could tell the kid a thing or two, but she held her tongue.

"You know, I'm the leader of a club called the Bombers. We're the coolest kids in town. I might be willing to let you join," he said.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Ashby said.

"No, no, she didn't mean that!" Leslie said quickly. "She's definitely interested. In fact, we'd all really love to join."

Jim looked their group up and down, sizing them up. "If you pass a test of mine, we might consider it."

"Oh no, I hate tests," Calynn moaned. "We don't have to study, do we?"

"I don't think he means that kind of test," Dylan said.

Jim pulled a whistle out from under his shirt and gave it a loud blow. Within moments, a group of boys all around the same age and all wearing matching bandannas ran up. They lined up with Jim in the middle and all folded their arms, mirroring their leader.

"Bombers, these kids want to join our club." Jim gestured to the group. "Ready for the Ultimate Test?"

"Ready!" three of the boys chimed in unison.

Jim eyed the fourth, who had gotten distracted watching a bug that was crawling near his foot. "Alf!"

The boy called Alf started. "Oh! Sorry!" he cried hastily. "Um...what was the question?"

Jim sighed. "Are you ready for the Ultimate Test?"

"Oh, right. Ready!" Alf called.

Jim turned back to Link and the girls. "Here are the rules. We're all going to hide, and you have to find all of us by this evening. If you find us, you pass the test. Got it?"

"Ohh, I love hide-and-seek!" Calynn said, clapping her hands. The others gave her a look. She shrugged. "What? It's fun!"

Leslie shook her head. "Anyway, I think we got it."

"Ok. Ready, set, go!" All of the Bombers except Alf, jumped up, raising their right hand toward the sky and bringing it down. "Alf?" Jim said.

"Oh!" Alf proceeded to do the jump, only to fall on his behind, then all the boys ran off to find a hiding place.

"Alright!" Calynn threw a fist into the air. "These little boys are about to witness the finding powers of the amazing Calynn Caulfield! Let's go!"

Dylan also threw her fist into the air. "Charge!"

"I can't believe we have to do this," Leslie muttered to Ashby, who nodded.

They found Jim and Alf first; both were hiding in North Clock Town. When they'd thoroughly searched the area, the group headed to the east part of town, where they found the third boy standing on top of a nearby roof, holding a chicken above his head.

"What's he going to do with that cucco?" Calynn asked.

"He's gonna throw it at us!" Dylan proclaimed.

"Somehow, I don't think that's the case," Leslie said. When they approached the boy, he proceeded to jump off the building, using the cucco's fluttering wings to float safely down to the ground. "Oh, I probably should have seen that coming," Leslie mused.

Dylan peeked over the edge of the building. "How are we gonna get down there?"

"I'm going to jump," Link said, and jumped off the edge, landing below with a graceful roll and chasing after the kid.

"Ohh. I'm Link," Dylan said in a high-pitched, mocking voice. "I'm the Hero of Time and I'm gonna jump cause I'm just that awesome." She stuck her tongue out at the green-clad boy, who was in the process of catching the runaway kid.

"Dylan," Leslie said. "There's a staircase over there." She pointed.

"...Oh."

Down the staircase they went, catching sight of the fourth child standing on top of another roof. "What's with these kids climbing on rooftops?" Ashby grumbled. "How did he get up there?"

Leslie looked around until she spied a nearby Deku flower. "Look. You can use that to get up there."

The kid was so surprised when Ashby flew up that he fell off the roof. Fortunately, it wasn't a far fall, so he was unharmed and the girls were able to catch him before he recovered himself.

"That just leaves one more," Leslie said once Ashby had taken a leap of faith and discovered that in her Deku Scrub body, she could jump more easily from high places.

"Don't you know where he is?" Dylan asked.

Leslie shook her head. "I can't remember. I played at my cousin's house and it's been a few years since I last went there. Cal, go get Link." Leslie gestured to the boy, who was busy chasing around the cucco that the kid had used.

"What? Why me?" Calynn asked.

"Because I said so."

"Ugh, fine…" Calynn moaned and went to fetch the boy and the fairy who was flying around after him, giggling at his attempts to catch the cucco.

After a long time of roaming around the city, they finally managed to find the fifth child in West Clock Town. They met up with Jim and his gang in North Clock Town.

"Sorry, but I don't think we can let the Deku Scrub join our club," Jim told them. He sounded genuinely apologetic. "What do you guys think?" He looked to his friends.

"No way! No Scrubs!" the other boys cried.

Jim shrugged and explained that they'd let a non-human join once and he'd proceeded to wreak all sorts of havoc across town. Tatl coughed self-consciously and ducked down behind Link's hat.

"We can still let the others join, though. Here, these are the Bombers Secret Society of Justice special notebooks. We use them to help the townspeople," Jim explained, handing out notebooks to everyone but Ashby. "And as promised, here's the secret code."

On Jim's command, the kids lined up and turned around so the numbers on the backs of their shirts formed a code. Jim reminded them that the entrance to the hideout was in East Clock Town and the kids all saluted and sang out together, "The Bombers Secret Society of Justice forever!"


End file.
